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Light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is currently taking place in some places of Koshi and some parts of the hilly areas of Bagmati Province.

This is due to the effect of the westerly and local winds, says the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology.

The weather will remain partial to generally cloudy in the hilly regions of the country, including Koshi, Madhes and Sudurpaschim Provinces, and clear in the remaining parts of the country.

This afternoon, there is a possibility of light to moderate rain with thunder, winds and lightning at some places in Koshi and Gandaki Provinces and the hilly parts of the rest of the provinces as well as at one or two places in the Terai region of Lumbini and Sudurpaschim Provinces, reads the weather bulletin issued by the Department this morning.

There is a possibility of light snowfall in one or two places in the high hilly and mountainous parts of the country.

Koshi Province Chief Minister Hikmat Kumar Karki expanded his Cabinet for the second time on Friday.

Chief Minister Karki expanded the Cabinet this afternoon by inducting seven ministers and two state ministers.

Ram Bahadur Magar has been appointed as the Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning, Ganesh Uprety as the Minister for Physical Infrastructure Development, Lila Ballav Adhikari as the Minister for Internal Affairs and Law, Rajendra Karki as the Minister for Health, Ek Raj Karki as the Minister for Drinking Water, Irrigation and Energy, Panchkarna Rai as the Minister for Social Development, Burja Magar as the Minister for Tourism, Forest and Environment and Chief Minister himself has taken the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.

Similarly, Minister of State Srijana Rai has been given the responsibility of the Office of Chief Minister and Minister of State Bandana Jhagand the responsibility of the Ministry of Tourism, Forest and Environment.

Karki was appointed as the Chief Minister of the Koshi Province on May 9.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that the government is committed to strengthening the judiciary and making the bar more capable.

Addressing the 16th All Nepal Lawyers National Conference here in the Capital today, the Prime Minister made it clear that the government has been active in the restructuring of the judiciary and the implementation of the Constitution.

"The government is continuously active in the restructuring of the judiciary and the implementation of the Constitution," said the Prime Minister. "Stating that democracy and the rule of law are the hallmarks of a civilized society, Prime Minister Dahal said that the judiciary must protect the rule of law.

Stating that the role of the bar is important for the protection of constitutionalism and its strengthening, the Prime Minister said, "The bar has played an important role in protecting the basic structure and recognition of the constitution.

"Mentioning the courage of the Bar to stand firmly in favor of constitutionalism, democracy and human rights, Prime Minister Dahal said that the role played by it is important for the rule of law, democracy, human rights, freedom of the press, separation of powers, independent, competent and accountable judiciary as well.

Nepal Students Union, the student wing of Nepali Congress, staged a demonstration outside the Parliament building in New Baneshwor demanding formation of a parliamentary probe committee.

The participants in the demonstration tied black bands on their heads and showed black flags in protest.

They staged the demonstration demanding formation of a parliamentary probe committee to investigate fraud charges against Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane.

They demanded that the victims of cooperatives should be given justice.

Police have taken some demonstrators under control.

The main opposition Congress has been obstructing both the meetings of the federal Parliament demanding formation of a parliamentary probe committee.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly meeting was postponed till Sunday after the Nepali Congress obstructed the proceedings.

The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has, through the third quarter review of the monetary policy of the current fiscal year 2023/24, reduced the risk weightage of vehicle loans.

The risk weightage on hire purchase loans provided by banks and financial institutions has been reduced to 100 percent from the existing 125 percent.

Similarly, a provision has been brought allowing for the extension of loans for home purchases based on the Debt Service to Gross Income Ratio, from the existing 50 percent to 70 percent, based on the presentation of appropriate evidence.

In the review of the monetary policy, the Central Bank has introduced a provision where banks and financial institutions can sell up to 20 percent of their primary capital in a single fiscal year from investments made in the mid-category.

Likewise, the loan loss requirement provision for loans classified as 'good loans' from banks and financial institutions has been maintained at 1.20 percent from the existing 1.25 percent.

According to the NRB, the existing provision related to import and sale of silver would be reviewed. The flexibility outlined in the annual monetary policy has been continued in the third quarterly review, added the NRB.

"Based on the current internal and external economic conditions and outlook, the policy rate of 5.5 percent, the deposit collection rate under the interest rate corridor of 3.0 percent and the bank rate of 7.0 percent has remained unchanged," reads the third quarter review.

The provision of permanent deposit facilities would be reviewed as necessary to ensure the effectiveness of interest rate corridor as well as necessary facilitation would be provided for the use of additional instruments to further strengthen the capital base of banks and financial institutions.

The meeting of the National Assembly (NA) has been postponed today after the main opposition party, Nepali Congress, obstructed the proceedings on Friday.

The NA Chairman Narayana Prasad Dahal adjourned the meeting after the Nepali Congress lawmakers stood up from their seats at the outset in protest. He postponed the meeting till 1: 15 pm on May 19, Sunday.

The Nepali Congress has been obstructing the meeting of the upper house of the Federal Parliament, calling for the formation of a parliamentary committee to carry out an impartial investigation into the alleged involvement of Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane in the misappropriation of the cooperative funds.

The Barbara Foundation has awarded the top prize of this year’s ‘Barbara Foundation Investigative Journalism Award 2024’ to Devendra Bhattarai, Matrika Dahal, Deepa Dahal, and Ramesh Kumar. Bhattarai and Matrika Dahal.

The four joint winners were feted for a series of news stories, published on Kantipur daily, that exposed the fake Bhutanese refugee scam involving various politicians and high level government officials, among others.

The award, carrying a purse of Rs 1.6m, was presented by actors Madan Krishna Shrestha and Hari Bansha Acharya, and the foundation’s chair, Dr Sanduk Ruit, at an event held in Kathmandu on Thursday.

Deepa Dahal of Ukaalo.com and Ramesh Kumar of Himal Khabar won the second and third prizes, respectively.  Dahal was awarded with RS 600,000 for uncovering the illegal appropriation of government land in Bansbari, while Kumar received Rs 300,000 as prize money for exposing the manipulation in the securities market.

Akhilesh Upadhyay, a member of the foundation, mentioned that 83 journalists had applied for the award, and four of them were selected as recipients. Among the applicants, around 90 percent were from print and online media, although investigative journalism extends beyond these platforms. 

Upadhyay emphasized the significant role investigative journalism plays in creating an accountable society. He also noted that investigative journalism encompasses not only exposing corruption and political issues but also addressing social issues.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Speaker of the House of Representatives Devraj Ghimire have initiated separate consultations with the leaders of the political parties for ending the gridlock in the Parliament. 

PM Dahal has called the leaders of the parties in the ruling coalition, the CPN-UML, the CP (Maoist Center) and the Rastriya Swatantra Party for consultations at Singha Durbar. According to the PM's Secretariat, the discussions are in progress.

Similarly, as the guardian, Speaker Ghimire has been holding consultations with the leaders and the whips of the ruling and opposition parties from time to time to make the House proceedings regular and resume its business.

Parliament spokesperson Secretariat Ekram Giri said that discussions are on with the political parties regarding operating the Parliament meeting which is currently in a state of obstruction and today's meeting has been delayed as the opposition party has sought some time.

The meeting of the House of Representatives was scheduled for 11 am while that of the National Assembly is scheduled for 1.15pm today.

The main opposition Nepali Congress is also in discussions with the leaders of other opposition parties.

The main opposition party has been obstructing the meetings under the current session of the Federal Parliament so far, calling for forming a parliamentary investigation committee to look into the misappropriation of cooperatives funds.

The Congress has also demanded that the Speaker Ghimire should play a neutral and impartial role.

The main opposition party has been obstructing the House meetings from the very first day of the commencement of the current session of Parliament on May 14. However, it had allowed President Ram Chandra Paudel to present the government's policies and programs for the upcoming fiscal year in the joint session of the Federal Parliament on May 15.

But the meeting scheduled for the same evening had to be postponed without taking up the agenda, including extending thanks to the President for presenting the policies and programs, due to the obstruction by the main opposition.

The House meeting on May 16 was also stalled due to the protest by the opposition.